So much for the Mystery Box. Last night, the usually-secretive J.J. Abrams showed up at his “Celebrity Nerd-Off” with The Late Show host Stephen Colbert — a fundraiser for the Montclair Film Festival held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center — with a big piece of news: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is officially complete. At precisely 2:38 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 21, the director finished the final sound mix on the seventh episode in the Star Wars franchise.

And how did he celebrate this accomplishment? By hopping on a plane and flying out to chat with fellow nerd Colbert, of course! Considering the lack of sleep and the intensive process of wrapping what’s easily the most anticipated film of the year, the fact that Abrams was able to talk coherently for two hours about his career was nothing short of remarkable. Clearly, the Force — or, at the very least, a healthy dose of caffeine — was with him. Here are four other details we learned from this spirited meeting of geek minds.

There Are No Lens Flares in This Galaxy Far, Far AwayColbert gently challenged Abrams on his copious use of lens flares in his previous movies, particularly Star Trek. Abrams’ defense? He just likes the way they look. “The reason I wanted to do it [in Star Trek] was that I loved the idea that the future they were in was so bright, it couldn’t be contained.“ Still, Abrams admitted that he may have gone a little overboard. “I was starting to get in trouble with people. When I made Star Trek Into Darkness, there was a scene where Alice Eve [who played Carol Marcus] was obliterated by a lens flare. I showed it to my wife, and she said ‘Okay, enough!’” Her reaction inspired the director to keep his flares to a minimum in The Force Awakens, and ILM’s visual effects supervisor, Roger Guyett, similarly helped him resist temptation. “As you’ll see, I’ve allowed lens flares to take a backseat,” said Abrams. “Every time there could be a flare, Roger would tell me, ‘These are not the flares you are looking for.’”

The Jury’s Still Out on That Jakku Cantina Slusho MachineEdgar Wright has his “Cornetto Trilogy,” named for the English ice cream brand, and Abrams has his “Slusho Suite.” Originally introduced in the director’s cult spy series, Alias, these sweet, sugary drinks — basically the Abrams-verse version of a 7-11 Slurpee — have made an appearance in numerous films and shows made by his production company Bad Robot. The director declined to reveal whether Force Awakens star Daisy Ridley will take a swig of Slusho to quench her thirst after spending all day scavenging fallen Imperial ships, but don’t be surprised if Slusho ends up with its own entry in the revised The Star Wars Encyclopedia.

The BB-8 Was Made in the Spirit of Ralph McQuarrieGeorge Lucas may have dreamed up Star Wars, but late artist Ralph McQuarrie was instrumental in translating those dreams into reality. His conceptual sketches and paintings for Star Wars helped firm up the look of C-3PO and R2-D2, as well as other key characters. “It was amazing to see what he did,” said Abrams, who did a deep dive into McQuarrie’s archives at Lucasfilm after landing The Force Awakens gig. “He embraced fundamental forms and wouldn’t complicate them. Think of the Star Destroyer: it’s basically a giant triangle.” So as the director was thinking up new vehicles and robots to introduce into the Star Wars universe in Episode VII, he made sure to keep McQuarrie’s “keep it simple” philosophy in mind. “I had an idea [that one droid] would look like a snowman, and drew this little circular shape,” Abrams said. In its finished form, that shape is BB-8, the little soccer ball-esque droid that has already become the breakout star of early Force Awakens trailers, as well as one of the most sought-after toys currently on the market.

Colbert Has a Killer Middle-earth IdeaBased on his recent comments, it sounds like Peter Jackson is clearly finished with Hobbits, Orcs and One Rings, but lifelong Lord of the Rings fan Colbert has the perfect pitch for anyone else interested in taking another trip to Middle-earth. The Late Show host pointed his guest to the “Akallabêth,” the fourth part of The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumously published book of pre-Hobbit lore. An account of the fall of the Kingdom of Númenor, the 30-page story sets the stage for many of the events we see play out in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with a few famous cameos to boot. “It’s got all your greatest hits in it,” Colbert said. “It’s got the Elves and Sauron is also in it! He’s actually captured, even though he has the One Ring at the time. It ends with the founding of the city of Gondor, and then you’re back in Middle-earth again. If they make anything from The Silmarillion, it should be that story.” Ball’s in your court, J.J.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will rack up at least $170 million over its domestic opening weekend when it hits theaters next December, early tracking indicates.

Rival executives privately predict that the film will hit or exceed $200 million and is poised to set a new record for a domestic debut. They note, however, that with a film like “The Force Awakens,” that has nearly universal awareness attached to it, it can be difficult to accurately gauge where the final box office numbers will land.

With a month to go, “The Force Awakens” is already shattering records. The seventh film in the massively popular franchise has generated more than $50 million in advance ticket sales.

Even if an opening weekend record remains elusive, “The Force Awakens” should have no trouble doubling the current high-water mark for a December opening held by 2012’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” at $84.6 million — giving it roughly $170 million. That would be the fifth-largest opening weekend in history, but $40 million behind “Jurassic World” for the best opening of all time at $208.8 million.

At this point, fan interest appears to be high enough that many in the industry would be shocked if “The Force Awakens” fails to join “Jurassic World” and 2012’s “The Avengers,” which brought in $207.4 million, as the only titles to open above $200 million. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” opened in May with $191.3 million and 2013’s “Iron Man 3” launched with $174.1 million.

It’s certainly shaping up to be what is referred to by movie studios as a “four quadrant” hit — meaning a picture that appeals to all demographic groups. Tracking suggests that interest in the film is nearly evenly split between men and women. It also appears to be a popular choice with both adults and children.

The more conservative forecasters note that no film has ever opened to more than $100 million in December and the Christmas movie-going season contains multiple distractions, such as shopping and traveling. Although the two most successful films of all time — “Avatar” and “Titanic” — opened in December, neither crossed $100 million during its opening weekend.

“Avatar” opened to a respectable $77 million six years ago, but then remained enormously popular for months and wound up with a record $750 million in the U.S. — along with over $2 billion from international markets.

Insiders note that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens'” second week in theaters will provide seven consecutive days during which time a large amount of the population will be free to head to the movies.

Studios have avoided going up against “The Force Awakens” with other tentpole releases on Christmas, although the marketplace will have plenty of high profile wide releases such as Jennifer Lawrence’s “Joy” from Fox, Will Smith’s “Concussion” from Sony, Warner Bros.’ “Point Break” and the Will Ferrell-Mark Wahlberg comedy “Daddy’s Home” from Paramount.

“The Force Awakens” is already the biggest advance seller in the history of online ticketing companies Fandango and MovieTickets.com. Most Imax screenings have sold out, but outside of those premium formats, there are tickets remaining to many shows on opening weekend.

The film kicks off a trilogy of pictures and brings back Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher from the first three “Star Wars” movies, along with new stars Adam Driver, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. J.J. Abrams directs the film.

There are also planned spinoffs and origin stories expected to debut in the coming years, as Disney and Lucasfilm hope to embrace the Marvel model of building a cinematic universe.

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Will Run 136 MinutesThe sequel is longer than the original film, but thankfully shorter than 'Attack of the Clones.'

The Force will awaken for slightly longer than expected, it seems.

Now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been completed, the final runtime of the movie is 136 minutes, one minute longer than the previously rumored running time.

This puts The Force Awakens directly in the middle of runtimes for Star Wars movies to date. The 1977 original ran 121 minutes (Later 125 in its "Special Edition" re-release), while The Empire Strikes Back reached 124 minutes in 1980 (127 minutes in "Special Edition" format).

Return of the Jedi in 1983 lasted 134 minutes (135 as a "Special Edition"), while the prequel trilogy ran 136 minutes (1999's The Phantom Menace), 142 minutes (2002's Attack of the Clones) and 140 minutes (2005's Revenge of the Sith), respectively.

As Star Wars: The Force Awakens nears release, more information about the movie continues to become available; last week, the movie was given a PG-13 rating, in line with 2005's Revenge of the Sith.

Daisy Ridley Says J.J. Abrams Called Her Acting 'Wooden' on the 'Force Awakens' Set

It can’t be easy to start off your career in the heart of a multibillion dollar franchise. In an new interview with Glamour UK (via NME), 23-year-old Ridley revealed director J.J. Abrams criticized her for her “wooden” acting when she first started filming The Force Awakens. “He probably doesn’t remember telling me that my performance was wooden,” she said, “This was the first day! And I honestly wanted to die. I thought I was gonna cry, I couldn’t breathe. And there was so many crew there, because obviously all the creatures [had stand-ins], and there were loads of extra crew making sure everyone was safe ’cause it was so hot. It was awful."

Things seem to have improved as shooting continued, however, and Ridley said that "My experience has been incredible,” both with the rest of the cast and crew, and with Disney’s PR team. “I’ve felt supported and respected the whole way through. I’ve not been told not to do anything. My Instagram has not been … what it’s called when they keep tabs on it? Yeah, it’s not monitored.” This is wonderful news, as Ridley’s Instagram is a Great British Bake Off–filled delight. Let’s hope she sticks to the advice of her co-star/interview mom Carrie Fisher and remains as candid as ever.

Read the heartwarming story behind one of the new droids in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Two weeks out from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the world has already fallen in love with BB-8. But the little orange ball of joy isn’t the galaxy’s only new droid. According to Geeks Speak, the latest film will also feature an appearance from R2-KT, a fan-built astromech droid constructed years ago to comfort a sick girl.

As the founder of the 501st Legion (perhaps the biggest network of Star Wars cosplayers), Albin Johnson was a prominent member of the Star Wars fan community. When his daughter, Katie Johnson, was diagnosed with cancer in 2004, Albin hit upon the idea to provide her very own astromech droid to watch over while she slept, as R2-D2 does with Padme Amidala in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Another big Star Wars fan group, the R2 Builders Group, rallied to Katie’s cause and built her a custom R2, colored pink and named after her: R2-KT.

Although Katie died in 2009, her droid protector lives on. Johnson told Geek Speak that Lucasfilm allowed R2-KT to appear in The Force Awakens (the droid has also previously been animated for an episode of The Clone Wars TV show).

“Mary Franklin of Lucasfilm asked me to pitch the idea to Kathleen Kennedy [Lucasfilm President], and after hearing the story of our pink ambassador of hope Lucasfilm requested we ship her off to London early last year. Quick repairs were made and off she went for six months,” Johnson wrote in an email to Geeks Speak.

It’s unknown at this time exactly how much we’ll see of R2-KT in the movie. Like everything else with The Force Awakens, we’ll just have to wait until Dec. 18 for answers.

Lucky for the galaxy, Daisy Ridley did not give in to her fear playing new hero Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fear, of course, is the path to the Dark Side.

"Because I hadn't made a film before, the whole thing was scary," Ridley says in PEOPLE's Star Wars special issue. "I had to get over the overwhelming fear of it. That was the hardest thing."

After all, the 23-year-old British actress went from a 15-second character in one episode of a little-seen PBS TV show, Mr. Selfridge, to a central character in the globally anticipated Star Wars sequel.

See exclusive photos, get a first look at new characters and learn more secrets from the cast and crew of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in PEOPLE's Star Wars collector's edition, on newsstands Dec. 9. And for more exclusive Star Wars news, come back to PEOPLE.com every day until it hits theaters Dec. 18

Ridley has since been prominent in The Force Awakens trailers, TV spots, posters, toys and more. Fan speculation is rampant that her character, whom Ridley has described as "solitary" but "not a princess," is connected to the Skywalker family tree. The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams has deliberately kept Rey's full name secret until the movie's Dec. 18 premiere.

What is known, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, is that Rey was abandoned by her family on the junkyard planet Jakku when she was only 5 years old. That's of course much different from Ridley's childhood.

"I actually wanted to be a zookeeper when I was 5," she says. "I was somewhat naughty as a child. My parents found a performing-arts school, and it kept me really busy. I loved the drama classes."

Ridley will become a galactic star when the movie premieres on Dec. 18, and she's not afraid of that or what comes next. "I don't have a dream role after this," she says. "I'm just going to plod through life and see what comes my way."

Another classic Star Wars character is returning for The Force Awakens

Classic Star Wars characters Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca have taken center stage in the lead-up to The Force Awakens, but it looks like another member of the universe will join them in a return trip to the galaxy far, far away.

Rolling Stone has revealed in its cover story on J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars film that Admiral Ackbar will make an appearance in The Force Awakens. First showing up in Return of the Jedi, where he uttered the now meme-iconic line, “It’s a trap,” Ackbar also appeared in the animated Clone Wars series. Tim Rose, who serves as the actor beneath the Ackbar costume, has indicated his return before and some have speculated he is the Mon Calamri glimpsed in a recent TV spot for the film, but Rolling Stone’s story ensures Ackbar will return to hopefully warn Rey, Finn, and the rest of the new characters of the dangers in their way.

Little is known about how Ackbar will factor into The Force Awakens, but other returning faces, like Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, have spoken to EW about what stepping back into those iconic shoes was like for the latest Star Wars film. And for more on the film before its Dec. 18 release, check out the rest of EW’s latest The Force Awakens coverage.

“It was something that while we were working on the movie, I realized how engaged with the fans and forthcoming Lucasfilm had always been, and my nature, which is to keep things quiet, was something that I was certain we were going to have fights about and my wanting to keep the audience surprised when they went to see the movie. But Disney, to my shock, was arguing to not ruin, not reveal, not show, every story beat. And we’ve all seen trailers for films that literally show you the movie in Cliff’s Notes form and then you go to see the film and you’re like, yeah, that was literally the movie. I saw it in a two minute, ten second piece.”

Billie Lourd has said she's not playing Princess Leia's daughter in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, even though she's the real-life daughter of Carrie Fisher.

But as PEOPLE's exclusive first look at her top-secret character reveals, she has at least inherited Leia's hairdo!

In PEOPLE's special Star Wars collector's edition, on newsstands today, Lourd reveals she had an obsession with the original movie when she was growing up.

"I made [my mom] watch it at least once a week – and on special occasions I would make her get in a lightsaber fight with me," Lourd, 23, says. "Let's just say the more trained Jedi usually won."

Lourd's destiny at first seemed to take a different path from her mom and dad's (her father is CAA superagent Bryan Lourd). At 19, she was studying religion and psychology at New York University. At that age, her mom started production on the original movie as the now-iconic Princess Leia, up to her hair buns in a galactic war.

But after graduating from NYU last year, Lourd has reclaimed her destiny; her family is strong in the ways of Hollywood, after all.

She costars on the Fox TV show Scream Queens. While the name of her The Force Awakens character still hasn't been revealed, Lourd says her mom's portrayal of Leia has long been an inspiration for her.

"When I saw the [original] movie for the first time, I noticed my mom was not only equally as confident and strong as the men, she was one of the most confident characters in the entire film," Lourd says. "It made me realize women are just as powerful as men and that we can truly do anything they can – if not more!"

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Facebook's most talked-about movie of 2015

There has been an awakening, and Facebook has definitely felt it.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the social network’s most frequently discussed movie of 2015, according to its annual year-end list. The highly anticipated space-opera sequel beat out summer blockbusters Furious 7, Jurassic World, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, with the military drama American Sniper (released at the end of 2014) rounding out the top five.

The Force Awakens is the only film on the list that has yet to open. It hits theaters Dec. 18, and fans are already lining up to see it. Initial presales crashed several ticketing sites in October, and a month later they accounted for more than $50 million.

Disney Debuting Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Surprisingly Few U.S. Screens

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuts on December 18, 2015 in domestic theaters, it will debut to "around 3,900" screens, according to BoxOffice. That number may not mean much to the casual fan, but to industry trackers it's surprisingly low.

When talking about arguably the most anticipated movie in a decade, seeing this relatively low number of 3,900 is surprising. The film has already set records for pre-sales, after all, and industry pundits have already talked about it being the highest grossing movie of the year, if not of all-time, with the highest opening weekend of December, the year, or again all-time, depending on who you ask.

To put the number of screens into context, at 3,900 it would come in as the #11 widest release of the year. Minions topped the year with 4,301 screens at opening the week after 4th of July. Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World also came in at 4,276 and 4,275 respectively. Mockingjay Part 2, Furious 7, Fantastic Four, Tomorrowland, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Inside Out, and Spectre (3,929) round out the top ten. That's three films distributed by Buena Vista, Disney's distribution arm handling Star Wars, and every other film outside of Minions is a big-budget action film aimed squarely at the same audience as The Force Awakens. Now, they say "around 3,900," so that could put this movie over the last one or two, but it's still nowhere near what was expected.

In the even grander scheme of things, the widest release ever belongs to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse with 4,468. The Dark Knight Rises clocks in at 4,404. The widest for a December release was the first The Hobbit film at 4,045, though, a bit closer to the reported Star Wars numbers.

Still, the low screen count is a mystery thanks to the other factors above. Perhaps Disney wants every theater completely sold out, or as close to it as possible. It may not seem like 300-400 screens makes that much of a difference, but if each of those can hold, let's say an average of 200 people for, on the low end, 4 showings a day, that's the potential for 320,000 tickets sales per day, and at an average (and this number seems low) movie ticket price in the US of $9, that's a whopping $2.88 million dollars per day being left on the table.

But if Disney thinks those tickets will fill out the empty seats in other theaters, rather than just causing more empty seats in new ones - cramming 320,000 people into mostly-full screenings, they'll give the public perception that the opening weekend was just flat-out sold out. They can potentially expand the number of screens then, (6 out of the 10 listed above did that in their second weekend), and sell even more tickets, as people perceive it to be a must-see and difficult-to-get ticket. It's the old "people want what they can't have" trick, and it's remarkably effective.

Of course, this number could change in the next week, as well, or could be simply mis-reported. One other factor is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be on every IMAX screen in the domestic market for the first month of its release. That's around 400 screens being sold exclusively at ticket prices more than double the national average (even more if it's IMAX 3D), which certainly makes up for a lot of those other screens. It is, contextually, also the largest opening of a Star Wars film, even at the low 3,900, it would beat out the next highest by about 240 screens.

Some who enter Bad Robot's Santa Monica building are placed under the veil of secrecy in case they overhear anything 'Force Awakens'-related.

Sources say some visitors to J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot offices in Santa Monica are being made to sign nondisclosure agreements in case they overhear anything Force Awakens-related (even for non-Star Wars meetings). Abrams neither confirms nor denies the NDAs to THR ("That might be true …") but does joke that they are pushed on anyone who looks "suspicious."

He coyly adds: "But I've never had to sign an NDA at Bad Robot."

He's clear when it comes to how he will feel after the film's premiere. "It's been exhausting not being able to talk about it, which is why when a friend or someone in my family has seen the movie, it's such a release to be able to ask specific questions and try to make this thing better."

First Look at 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Movie-Theater Merchandise

Back when the original Star Wars, A New Hope, arrived in 1977, cinemas sold souvenir booklets featuring photos, cast and character bios, and behind-the-scenes info all wrapped inside a breathtaking cover illustration. With The Force Awakens arriving in theaters next week, Disney is taking the lobby merchandise up a notch, peddling a variety of “Galaxy Premiere” goods, from keychains to hoodies, in select theaters for a limited time (see the complete list of participating movie houses) beginning with preview showings on Dec. 17. Click through for your exclusive first peek at the commemorative offerings.

According to forecasts, the movie can outdo 'Avatar' at the box office in the country.

In Russia, advance ticket sales for the new installment of the Star Wars franchise hit a record number, while the distributor says the movie might take a stab at beating Avatar as the country's top grossing movie of all time.

By early December, more than 15,000 tickets for The Force Awakens were presold, which is the highest number ever, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.

Meanwhile, Anton Sirenko, general director of Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (WDSSPR), which is to release the movie on December 17, said earlier this month at the Russian film market that the movie could gross more than Avatar.

The distributor wouldn't make any official forecasts, though. "We cannot make any forecasts regarding a movie's gross before we have actual numbers," a spokesperson for WDSSPR told The Hollywood Reporter.

One reason to believe that the new Star Wars could do better than Avatar is the fact that Russia has a considerably higher number of movie screens today than it had back in 2009, when James Cameron's movie was released.

In 2009, Russia had 2,100 screens, while in early 2015 – the latest available data – this figure reached 3,800.

Under the Communist rule, Star Wars movies were not released in Russia.

The first episode of the franchise to be released here was Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in 1999. It grossed $4.75 million, according to the local database KinoPoisk.

Three years later, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones took in $5.3 million and was in fifth place among the year's top grossing movies.

Back in 2009, Avatar grossed $56.3 million (1.7 billion rubles at the exchange rate of the time). To surpass the dollar figure, however, a movie would have to more than double the ruble performance, as the ruble has lost a substantial part of its value since then.

John Williams’ iconic and Oscar-winning Star Wars score has been as enduring a part of the franchise’s legacy as the Millennium Falcon or Leia’s hairdo. And with the composer’s return to the series with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Williams is reviving his famous refrain while crafting a whole new score for the film.

A behind-the-scenes look at a Williams recording session from 60 Minutes offers a listen at some of what Williams has in store for the new film. And though the segment delights in J.J. Abrams’ presence as he records the musicians and Williams on his phone (famous Hollywood directors — they’re just like us), the true treat of it is the chance to hear a few snippets of Williams’ new score.

The segment, viewable below, includes Williams working with Abrams on fitting a track to a particular scene, as well as enough hints of The Force Awakens’ score as it hopes to transport viewers once again to a galaxy far, far away.

As befits a movie gunning to be the Biggest Ever, Monday’s Hollywood premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is shaping up to be bigger than big.

Crews on Friday shut down Hollywood Boulevard from Highland Avenue to La Brea Boulevard and began erecting a giant tent that appeared like it might stretch almost that distance. The space is being prepared to accommodate a giant party that will follow the 6:30 p.m. debut of the seventh installment in the space opera.

But this will not be just a standard showing at the TCL Chinese or El Capitan Theater. Instead, Disney has hired out both of those storied theaters and the adjacent Dolby Theater, sources say, to make room for a super-sized crowd of special invitees.

Security and crowd control will also be at Academy Award levels, with 50 uniformed officers patrolling the four-block stretch and the surrounding area, according to an LAPD official. By comparison, the premiere of “The Hateful Eight” a week prior at the Hollywood’s Arclight Cinerama Dome drew just four uniformed L.A. officers.

The company had to obtain a permit from L.A.’s Bureau of Street Services to close down the heavily-trafficked boulevard. It will pay for the cost of the extra police presence, as well, a city official said.

Three days prior to the kickoff, squads of fan boys and fan girls already dotted Hollywood Boulevard, particularly in front of the Chinese Theater. Many were there not just in anticipation of Monday night’s parade of stars but already waiting for the first public showings of “The Force Awakens,” which begin Thursday, Dec. 17. Even with most early tickets now purchased online, the “Star Wars” acolytes insisted on arriving early, to commune with their fellow space travelers.

Some of the fans on Friday made Jedi robes, while others knitted chain mail armor. Caroline Ritter and Andrew Porters of Australia looked forward to their Dec. 17 “Star Wars”-themed wedding, planned for the TCL Chinese’s famous forecourt. A Darth Vader character was scheduled to walk Ritter down the aisle, with a Storm Trooper honor guard looking on. As with all things “Star Wars,” there will be brand tie-ins: Baskin-Robbins will present a themed wedding cake, while Dunkin Donuts hosts pre-ceremony coffee and donuts.

Disney officials have been almost entirely mum about Monday’s extravagant opening, needing little extra promotional pop for a film that is the most anticipated in recent memory. Some pundits believe the film, also known as “Episode VII,” will eventually become the biggest box office winner in history, topping “Avatar’s,” nearly $2.8 billion.

Fans eager to read the first reviews of “The Force Awakens” will have to wait until Wednesday when the official embargo lifts at 12:01 a.m. PST.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Will Not Screen In Advance For Theater Employees

Just how serious is Disney about no spoilers leaking out about Star Wars: The Force Awakens? So serious, that they have reportedly barred theaters from doing any advance screenings for employees.

According to a post on Reddit, Disney sent an email to theaters warning them against doing an advance employee screening for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Any theaters that shows the movie before the first public screenings on December 17th will have the movie pulled entirely from their theaters. Considering that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will likely make up a large portion of December revenue for most theaters, the threat of pulling the movie is quite a big one from Disney.

According to subsequent posts on Reddit, theater executives are allowed to a quality check viewing of the film on Wednesday, but employee screenings are strictly off limits. There is a world premiere screening being conducted on Monday and limited press only screenings happening on Tuesday, but outside those few screenings, it looks like everyone else will be seeing the movie at the earliest on Thursday night.